Taiwan Union Plans Strike Vote Over Profit Sharing

For a foreign-owned company with a plant or office in Taiwan, news of a strike vote brings a pay dispute close to home. How would the company respond if its own employees and managers disagreed over pay? A clear dispute file and the pay rules already in place give management a starting point. An announcement of a vote establishes neither a legal right to strike nor a resolution of the pay dispute.

Taiwan News reported on September 22, 2026 that Micron Taiwan's Taoyuan union planned a strike vote after mediation over a profit-sharing proposal ended without agreement. The report described the unions' proposal to allocate 15% of operating profit to quarterly bonuses. It also carried the company's statement that it had participated in mediation in good faith and sought further talks. A September 24 CNA report said the Taoyuan union would hold a briefing on September 29 and vote from October 1 through October 6. The reports describe a planned vote; they do not establish that a strike has been authorized or begun.

From failed mediation to a strike declaration

Under Article 53 of the Act for Settlement of Labor-Management Disputes, dispute action generally requires mediation to have failed. The same article bars strikes over rights disputes. Whether a pay demand is an adjustment dispute or a dispute over an existing right depends on the collective agreement, employment terms and the demand itself. A news account alone is not enough to classify another employer's dispute.

Article 54 also requires a union vote. Before declaring a strike or setting up a picket line, the union must hold a direct, secret ballot and obtain the consent of more than half of all its members. The majority is measured against the full membership, not just those who vote. The article also specifies workers who may not strike and industries with necessary-service conditions. If the employer's activity falls within a regulated category, those limits need to be checked. Announcing a timetable, holding a vote and validly declaring a strike are separate steps.

Management needs the notice defining the dispute, the mediation result and any messages explaining the vote. The result remains unknown until the ballots are counted. A designated contact in Taiwan can receive formal notices and maintain a dated file of responses and proposals.

Employer conduct during the dispute

During mediation, arbitration or adjudication, Article 8 prohibits an employer from closing the business, stopping work, ending employment contracts or taking other action adverse to workers because of that dispute. While those proceedings are pending, Article 8 also restricts workers from taking dispute action because of that dispute. The restriction turns on the reason for the action. Not every management decision in that period is prohibited, but the rule does require the employer to explain a legitimate, independent reason for a decision affecting workers.

Article 8 applies only while mediation, arbitration or adjudication is pending. When mediation ends without agreement and no other procedure is pending, Labor Union Act Article 35 still applies. It prohibits an employer, or anyone exercising management authority on its behalf, from dismissing or demoting a worker, cutting the worker's pay or taking other adverse action because the worker participates in union activities or collective bargaining, or takes part in or supports dispute action. A union strike ballot has to be considered under the union-activity protection in Article 35(1)(1), not only under the dispute-action protection in Article 35(1)(4). Under Article 35(2), dismissal, demotion or a pay cut on those prohibited grounds is void.

Managers can keep communicating and negotiating through consistent channels, without threats tied to union participation. Written reasons for any staffing or scheduling change need to be preserved. If the company must make an unrelated operational decision, it should seek advice in Taiwan on timing and evidence before announcing it, particularly when a planned dismissal, transfer or shutdown coincides with an active dispute. The guide for a foreign professional facing dismissal in Taiwan explains the consequences of an actual termination for the employee. Whether a particular step taken during a collective dispute complies with Article 8 remains a separate question.

If a strike is lawfully declared, Article 55 requires dispute action to be taken in good faith and without abuse of rights. It also bars an employer from claiming damages from a union or its members for harm caused by dispute action taken under the Act. The company's response should distinguish lawful dispute activity from a specific act that falls outside legal protection, rather than announce a blanket damages claim. Safety and access problems call for a record of concrete incidents and prompt local advice on how the company may respond.

Company law and the profit-sharing proposal

Company Act Article 235-1 requires a company to state in its articles of incorporation a fixed amount or ratio of employee compensation based on that year's profit, after accumulated losses are covered. For a Taiwan company limited by shares, compensation may be paid in stock or cash. The board must approve it by resolution and report the decision to the shareholders' meeting.

Article 110 applies Article 235-1 to a Taiwan limited company as well. Its decision-making rules, however, fall under Article 108; the same procedures for board approval and share-based compensation cannot simply be assumed. A foreign company's Taiwan branch is part of the foreign company, rather than a separately incorporated Taiwan company (Article 3). The employer's legal form determines which corporate procedures apply.

Article 235-1 does not set the 15% of operating profit, quarterly payment or other terms reported in the Micron negotiations. The articles do not answer every question under an employment contract or a collective agreement.

The current registered articles, board resolutions and collective or individual pay commitments have to be read together. The statute's “annual profit,” an operating-profit proposal in negotiations and a contractual bonus formula may use different accounting measures. Which company in the group made the commitment also matters. An overseas parent's policy does not automatically bind its Taiwan subsidiary, while a promise by the Taiwan employer cannot be dismissed simply because headquarters described it differently.

“The law already mandates this exact bonus” may overstate the statute; “bonuses are entirely discretionary” may overlook the articles or existing agreements. An accurate explanation starts with the statute and the company documents and distinguishes statutory employee compensation from negotiated additional bonuses.

A working record for the Taiwan team

The dispute documents, mediation outcome and union notices belong in one dated file. Alongside it, management needs a clear account of who is authorized to negotiate and who can approve a pay proposal for the Taiwan employer.

Comparing the registered articles, bonus policies, employment contracts and collective agreements word by word can reveal where the commitments differ. If the group has several subsidiaries, the record should also show which workers each entity employs.

Local managers need to understand the Article 8 restriction while mediation, arbitration or adjudication is pending, and the protections under Labor Union Act Article 35 at every stage. Proposed staffing changes should go through a documented review. A neutral employee message can then set out what has been proposed and what remains undecided.

These preparations do not predict a vote, a strike or an eventual agreement. They let the employer answer workers and regulators from its own records rather than from a headline. They can also identify the issue that may need negotiation: the basis for calculating payments, eligibility, frequency, the company involved or the approval process.

Advice from Hovering International Law Firm

Hovering International Law Firm can review a Taiwan employer's dispute timetable, articles of incorporation and relevant labor documents, and help prepare a lawful response in Taiwan.

To discuss your Taiwan case, email Attorney Wei Tseng (曾雋崴) at wei@hoveringlaw.com.tw. In your initial email, send the formal dispute and mediation records, current articles, pay policies, collective agreements and any planned staffing decisions. The office is at 7F-2, No. 35, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan. The Chinese address is 103 臺北市大同區承德路一段35號7樓之2.

Sources and further reading

• Taiwan News, September 22, 2026: the planned strike vote, reported profit-sharing proposal and company statement.
• CNA, September 24: the reported briefing and voting timetable.
• Act for Settlement of Labor-Management Disputes, Article 53: failed mediation and rights disputes.
• Act for Settlement of Labor-Management Disputes, Article 54: direct secret ballot, majority of all members and special restrictions.
• Act for Settlement of Labor-Management Disputes, Article 8 and Article 55: conduct during proceedings and dispute action.
• Labor Union Act, Article 35: protections for union activity, collective bargaining and dispute action.
• Company Act, Article 235-1: employee compensation provisions in the articles of incorporation.
• Company Act, Article 110 and Article 108: application to limited companies and their directors.
• Company Act, Article 3: a branch as a subordinate establishment of its head office.
• Guide for a foreign professional facing dismissal in Taiwan: the consequences of an actual termination for the employee.

Checked: September 30, 2026